A Long Journey

By Marjorie Roth

No, I’m not talking about a trip in a covered wagon.  I’m not talking about a trip to the Camargue, nor a gastronomical trip through Provence.  No, I’m talking about life.

That seems like a truly long journey, one that involves great and varied emotion, depending on our acknowledged reality at the time.

These thoughts have been precipitated by the loss of another tooth, front and center.

A tooth whose absence is unmistakable, a gleaming space which seems to mean I have every other tooth, with the alternates missing.  So I am confronted, as are my associates, with wondering what has happened, and who is this person who looks like a witch?  This key tooth gave up when I was out to lunch with friends.  I couldn’t quite believe this rocklike sensation was an out-of-place tooth…but it was.

The thing is, I was coasting along, having accepted the loss of a few teeth, having convinced myself that I didn’t look that bad and the remaining teeth would see me out without dental work.  I had tried two dentists, both a negative experience.

And very expensive.  I had decided I could live with what I had.   I had some anxiety about how long my teeth would last, but I soothed myself with how much time was going by, how much older I was getting, and trying to believe there would be no further change before I died.  Wrong on all counts.  And vanity is tipping the scales:  Can I accept an existence in which I look like a witch, in which I can see other people reacting to my appearance in a way which says, How can she look like this?

I can remember when my mother got false teeth.   She was unhappy with that situation and was never satisfied with the way they fit.  I am aware that there are many kinds of helping products to deal with false teeth and, after all, there are always soft foods and a blender and soups, but that in itself is a bad sign.

I had given up on the idea of implants because I have osteoporosis, and even trying implants would take more time than I had left in this world.  I am annoyed with myself over accepting living with a fantasy that everything would be okay.  I am now ready to consult with a dentist and find out what my options are and how much they cost.

But my question to you all now is, Do you have a dentist you can recommend and whose offices are accessible to the handicapped?

Please advise!!